The Cage
by scenikeight
Summary: (Saloonatics AU) After finding a friend in his captive, the bandit Juan tries to make the cage as homely as possible for Prince Matthew. (One-shot, 3rd Person.)


_"What's it like being a prince?"_

 _"Oh, it's marvellous! Ladies love a prince."_

* * *

Ever since the day Prince Matthew had been captured, Juan had been appointed to stay on watch outside of the cage in the corner of the room. The boss had described the job of looking after a captive to him like owning a pet. He had to provide him with food and water, and make sure he didn't get sick. Juan was prepared to heed those instructions literally and treat him exactly how he would a pet at first, but his interest in the Prince's life soon made him realise that despite the instructions he had sworn to follow, he would be more like a friend to Juan than any of the gang members were while he was there. It was because of this, that Juan was determined to never give him a reason to want to leave. He knew it was inevitable, though. His boss had plans to ransom the captive off. That didn't mean he couldn't make the most of the time they had, though.

Every night, Juan find something to ask the Prince about the life he lead back home. Oftentimes, Matthew would go on about it for hours, finding peace in reciting every single miniscule detail he could. After the fourth night of this routine, Juan had developed a suspicion that the Prince was exaggerating parts of his lifestyle but enjoyed the stories nonetheless. He knew that keeping such royalty in a cage was cruel (and repeatedly expressed how sorry he was to emphasise this point to Matthew) and while he knew he could never let him have full freedom on the rare occasions he was allowed to take him out for a walk around the gang's headquarters, Juan was never given restrictions on how he and the Prince interacted and felt like giving him a chance to reminisce about his life made the captive feel as at home as he possibly could, being stuck in the far-too-small space between the makeshift steel bars and the floor that was clearly not built for someone of his size. Juan wished he could do better though. Whenever Eduardo and Marco had left the headquarters (and Juan behind to keep an eye on their captive), he had asked the Prince about things he could get for him to make him feel more at home. Matthew had told him of the fine jewels kept on his dresser and the palace décor he had handpicked by the finest architects and designers in all of England. At first, Juan had been daunted by the standard of these items but over time came to the conclusion that the Prince probably wouldn't mind what he had, as long as it was better than the cage he currently sat in.

* * *

The first few days of being a captive had inspired Prince Matthew to attempt to break out from the cage, however, regardless of how he went about it, Juan was always unwittingly one step ahead of him. It had taken him no longer than the duration of their first conversation for Matthew to realise that Juan was not the most intelligent of the small group of bandits that had a hold of him, so his assumptions that it would be simple to trick him into letting him out were not misplaced, but incorrect nevertheless. Being in such a small space for so long had started to wear on him before long and he began to develop a paranoia that Juan knew exactly what he was trying to do, but was once again proven wrong after he stopped attempting to escape and his kidnapper still seemed nothing but friendly, as if he hadn't even noticed the attempts in the first place. As the days trailed on, what was originally mild annoyance and feelings of superiority towards the vacuous bandit was replaced with some kind of warmth and appreciation for his agreeable attitude. Their boss, Eduardo, was a contemptible man in and out of comparison and the Prince was thankful he was not who he was left with. Besides, despite his slow demeanour, Juan seemed generally worried about his state and did everything he could to make the Prince feel, well, _princely_ , and was all for helping him make the best of a bad situation. Having someone whom he could tell stories of his life at home to was nice, too. But despite Juan's best efforts, and even his promises of giving his cage renovations to make it feel more like a palace, he still wasn't at home and the intention of being sold for ransom money still loomed over their temporary friendship. Matthew doubted he would be sold in the end though; being a prominent figure meant his disappearance would have been national news and no doubt someone would find him before his time here was up. He had discussed this with Juan on the 6th day and Juan had looked noticeably upset, but he expressed that he was glad that meant Matthew wouldn't be harmed when he left. In hindsight, he wasn't a particularly good bandit.

* * *

Around midday on the 16th day, Juan had left his post beside the cage while his fellow gang members were away, returned shortly after and presented the Prince with jewellery he had found in his mother's house and a stolen painting of unknown source. Matthew, who was looking thinner and sadder than he had when he was first locked up, had his eyes lit up and filled with delight when he was given them. Juan had warned him that he would have to take them back and hide them when Eduardo and Marco returned to the headquarters, but truthfully he wasn't so worried about what they would do if they found out he was treating their captive to royalties while they were away. He was just thankful that he could make the Prince seem genuinely happy again.

He had also acquired himself a nice looking bedsheet and a bit of cardboard he could fashion into a cape and crown. Matthew had been teaching him how to 'be a prince' in the midst of their conversations and one of the first guidelines he had spoken of was royal attire. It wasn't the greatest, but he thought it would look good enough for him to 'impress the ladies', like Matthew had promised it would. When the outfit was completed, the Prince had given him a thumbs up and stated he looked fantastic, which Juan felt very proud of himself about.

Eduardo and Marco had returned not long before. The former had given Juan a sour look when he saw what he was wearing and motioned for Marco to follow him outside. Juan wasn't fazed by this, however, as he was much more concerned out what his new best friend thought about him. That was why he wasn't really bothered when he heard his boss call from the balcony that the sheriff was right outside their headquarters, but a return to proper judgement made him realise he would need to help fight back too if it meant he would be able to keep his friend for a little longer. He pulled his bandanna up, dropped the cape, cocked his pistols and stepped outside. He didn't even notice the cracking sound coming from the room behind him.

He wasn't really going to shoot anyone, anyway. He was a pacifist at heart and was only in the group of bandits because he knew Eduardo, but his aim was good and he knew how to miss right. He was just eager to head back to Matthew once the sheriff and his newly arrived partner had left the premises. A field of bullets sprayed out ahead of them and eventually he just tuned out of what was going on around him, his fire going off in a rhythm. He heard someone thump to the ground beside him and came back to Earth with a jolt. The sheriff and his partner had cleared off; he figured they had just given up. He would have, too. He'd always thought you'd have to be either really stupid or really evil to get in the line of fire.

Juan turned around and stopped in his tracks.

* * *

The cage door was hanging open. The cupboard he kept the jewels and painting in had been disrupted as well. How had he gotten out? He didn't think he saw the sheriff go in.

When he went over to the cage, he found a note at the bottom that was covered in smeared ink. It had obviously been quickly scribbled out when the Prince had fled. But despite the smears, the writing was still mostly legible.

' _Dear_ _Prince_ _Juan,_

 _Thank you for being so nice to me. I bet the ladies love you._

 _X, your dear friend, Prince Matthew of England."_

* * *

 **Author's note:** Hoooly shit. It has been like three years since I've written anything good, specifically for this fandom. But yesterday's episode was so good and the scenes between Matt and Jon were s I'm so happy it happened and I know this fic isn't that good but I just wanted to get something out there based on it so h Ey I hope at least someone enjoyed it lmao


End file.
